(UPDATE) THE United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan on Friday called on the government to adopt a non-interference policy in media operations, saying the public needs access to various sources of news and information.

Khan made the statement at the end of her two-week mission to the Philippines, during which she met with government officials, journalist groups, and visited the jailed campus journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio in Tacloban, Leyte.

PRESS FREEDOM ADVOCATE Irene Khan, United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, discusses her initial assessment of the freedom of the press in the country during a briefing at the UN office in Mandaluyong City on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Khan said that there should be less government interference in the media. Khan arrived in the country on January 22 and met with representatives of several government agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security. She visited Malacañang on Thursday, February 1, when she met with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA

In a media briefing at the UN Office in Mandaluyong City, she said the Marcos administration should come up with a way for better collaboration among government agencies in protecting journalists.

"My recommendation to the government, to this administration, is that you need to send a message out, to the whole world that journalists in the Philippines are free and safe, and you will not anyone interfere with their works," she said.

Citing the case of CNN Philippines, which closed down after incurring "serious financial losses," Khan recommended that the government adopt a policy that will regulate media ownership.

The government has repeatedly denied there is a systematic attack against the press in the country, but the UN official stressed it has to do more to improve the media's working climate.

During her meeting with Supreme Court justices and Department of Justice (DoJ) officials on January 24, Khan recommended the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), which has come under fire from civil rights groups for red-tagging.

"NTF-Elcac was established about six years ago in a different context. It is outdated. It does not take into account the ongoing prospects for peace negotiations," she said.

The task force was created by then-president Rodrigo Duterte following failed attempts to negotiate peace with communist insurgents.

Khan said the agency's abolition will address critical drivers of red-tagging and "allow for a more inclusive peace-making platform or platforms with the participation of women peacemakers and communities as a genuine [whole-of-nation] approach to peace."

She also urged the government to adopt a law to protect human rights defenders.

Commenting on criticisms against her visit to the Philippines, Khan said she came to Manila on an invitation from the government.

She refused to discuss the planned investigation of the International Criminal Court into Duterte's anti-drug campaign, saying it was not within her competence.

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